Do you love to write? Do you have a desire to share your thoughts, ideas, or your daily events with like-minded people such as yourself? Are you searching for a hobby, or a part-time job, or perhaps a full-time job? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then maybe you should consider starting a blog.
Even if you own a small business or a large company, and you want to reach out to lots of people to boost that business, you should consider starting a blog section on your website. In today’s world, whenever somebody needs something, they first turn to Google for advice and ideas. Therefore, having a blog that follows SEO standards can help you be easily found by those who need you.
You may now wonder how a blog would help you with SEO. With good quality content, smart keywords, backlinking, you will put yourself out there and become easier to find over search engines.
Finally, let’s get to business. If you want to start your own blog, here are seven things you should know before you set out on this adventure.
1. You need to decide what your blog will be about
First of all, you need to decide what your blog will mostly be about. I say “mostly” because if, for example, you want to write a blog about cooking, you will not be obliged to write only recipes for the rest of your blogging days. Your posts can include any additional details you want – some tips and tricks, or an anecdote from your daily life – as long as it is well written with the rest of the text.
However, you do need a theme that would put your blog in a specific category. Our recommendation is to choose something that you are passionate about, that will motivate you to get up in the morning and write that blog post. So whether it is cooking, fitness, IT, mom life, books – make sure it is that one thing you gladly go back to when everything else seems too dull and annoying.
2. If you mean serious business, you should buy a domain name
There are blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc.) that you can use free of charge to create a blog. This is fine for someone who wants to blog just for fun, or if you are a beginner who is unsure if blogging is something you want to do.
However, if you intend to make your blog look serious and be successful, you should definitely buy a domain. Your domain name should match your blog’s name.
Let’s imagine, for example, that you want to name your blog Bob’s Kitchen. First, you need to check if the name has not already been taken. If it is available, perfect! Now you can create your website www.bobskitchen.com, which sounds business-like, and it shows that you have made an effort to create a brand.
If the name has been taken though, come up with another name. Something catchy, not too short and not too long, and of course, unique. Avoid making a website like www.bobskitchen123.com. It looks sloppy, and it will make readers confused. Finally, after you make sure you came up with a unique name, take that name and make sure it is yours only.
3. It is essential to choose a reliable hosting company
Now, you have your domain, and you are ready to start writing. But before you do, you need a virtual parking space, so to say, where all your texts and media would be parked on the internet. There are two options here.
One option is to choose a hosting company that would let you use that parking space for free, but you would have to agree with them putting various bumper stickers (read ads) to your car. Since this is how they make money, you cannot really blame them.
The second option, this being the one that we heartily recommend, is to choose an off-shore hosting company (such as AbeloHost). This is an option that will cost you a little bit, but you will get so much in return. Things like customer support, data protection and insurance, and freedom to create a website you have always dreamed of. When blogging becomes your job, these things become priceless.
4. You will have to promote yourself and your blog
In order to build a readership, yes, you will. Luckily, you can achieve this in many ways nowadays. Social media, like Instagram and Facebook, are great places to start. You should create your pages on these platforms as well, using the same name. You can also pay for Facebook and Instagram ads that would appear to a targeted audience.
Another great strategy is guest blogging. With guest posts written for well-known blogs, you can reach out to a wider audience and lead them back to your own blog.
5. You have to have your readers on your mind at all times
Your readers are your road to success. The more readers you have, the more successful your blog is. Therefore, you need to have in mind what your readers want, and deliver.
This means that you will have to know your audience and know who they are. If you are writing a blog about mom life, this means your audience will mostly be other moms. Write about topics that would be interesting to them, for example Five ways to entertain your children on a rainy day. On the other hand, avoid topics like Five night clubs to go dancing tonight, because it is highly unlikely that your readers are avid clubbers.
6. You need to be ready to learn a lot
Unless you are a tech expert, you will probably get vertigo from all these terms. SEO, backlinking, guest blogging, domain, hosting… It can be a bit overwhelming. Therefore, be prepared to learn in order to do what you love.
While you can always pay someone else to take care of technical things for you, bear in mind that you will do the best job in creating both the content and the look of your site.
7. Always remember to be yourself
Last, but not least, always remember to be who you are. Readers seek genuine and authentic content, as well as emotion within that content. Don’t copy anyone, and don’t try to be someone you are not. Focus on quality, and write from your heart, as cheesy as it sounds. This brings us back full circle to where we started – if you want to succeed as a blogger, it is important to write about things you are passionate about.
To sum up, there are a lot of things to think about when starting a blog. We have only named a few crucial ones to get you started. Finally, no one said blogging was easy. Like any other job, it requires a lot of time, energy, and effort. It requires creativity, dedication, and determination. But if this is what you want to do, then you should go for it, because only when we do what we love, we can truly be happy at work. How many people do you know that can say that?
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